Jehovah's Witness regional convention

Every summer, Jehovah’s Witnesses around the world gather for teaching conventions on topics set by a governing body of men in the organization’s international headquarters in Brooklyn, New York. The 2016 topic of study is ‘Remain Loyal to Jehovah.’

From June to August this year, 57 conventions will be held in Canada in 26 locations. According to Garry Theon, news media representative for the local district of Jehovah’s Witnesses, around 146,000 in all will attend.

The convention for this region is currently underway at SaskTel Centre. The three-day event from July 1 to 3 draws attendees from across the region which covers all of Saskatchewan plus Northwest Manitoba, including Flin Flon and Thompson.

The convention program features speakers from the region, as well as John MacEwan, a special representative from the organization’s Canadian branch office near Toronto.

Doug McRae, who is on the convention organizing committee, says the speakers are all excellent — including the local speakers — because Jehovah’s Witnesses are trained to be public speakers. The longest talk on the program will be 30 minutes.

“The content of the presentations is based on what Headquarters has outlined,” McRae says. “That outline is used around the world and uniquely developed by each district.”

The convention began on Friday morning 9:30 a.m. and goes until Sunday around 3:35 p.m. Besides symposium-format teaching, the program features singing, prayer, music-video presentations, dramatic bible readings and drama.

“Conventions today are very much visually oriented,” McRae says. “There used to be a lot of long addresses. Now we use short segments of speaking plus movie and media clips to hold people’s attention and help them learn.”

The video clips are easily seen from anywhere in the arena thanks to 20-foot video screens set up on either side of the stage plus the Videotron above the centre of the rink.

“No matter where a person sits, they have an excellent view,” Garry Theon says.

Many of the talks are presented in symposium form and consist of several parts, each about 15 minutes long. Video clips reinforce the teaching. McRae says the short teaching segments seem to work best.

“It’s difficult to maintain a congregation’s attention, so we cut things down into bite size chunks interspersed with visual segments, and sometimes even cartoon or caricature-type clips.”

Friday’s topic focused on teaching about how Jesus Christ set a perfect example as God’s loyal one. Today, presenters are exploring what the biblical book of Job has to say about remaining loyal despite intense suffering. On Sunday, there will be a feature-length film about King Hezekiah ‘holding fast to Jehovah’ while being besieged by his enemies.

McRae says the whole convention is geared for all ages with a special emphasis on families.

“In the Jehovah’s Witness organization, parents are encouraged to train their children to recognize the benefits of biblical principles and guidelines,” Garry Thoen says. “Our teaching focuses on how the Bible impacts our lives and helps families, parents, and children. Many people have the sense that the Bible has no relevance today. We know that’s not true.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses have been holding yearly teaching conventions for many decades. “Probably since the 1930s,” McRae says. “They used to be eight-day events. Friends from Canada would go to the U.S. to attend, but as the societal scene changed, it became more difficult for people to get away for that length of time. Now our conventions are regional and three days in length.”

The gathering at SaskTel Centre is free; no collection will be taken; there are no obligations or expectations. “Everyone is invited and welcome to attend,” McRae says. “You can come in the front doors, sit wherever you want, listen, follow in your Bible if you have one, and leave when you please.”

Assistance is provided for the elderly and handicapped. Audio on an FM system is available for those hard of hearing.

Full day attendees are encouraged to bring their own lunch since there are no food services available during the event.

There have been Jehovah’s Witnesses living in the Saskatoon area since the 1930s. By the 1940s, one congregation of about 40 people met for weekly meetings in a rented room on 20th Street. Today there are about 1,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses in 11 congregations in Saskatoon — including English, Tagalog and Spanish congregations, plus an American Sign Language group and a Chinese group (not yet congregations).

Meetings are held during the week, with programs on Sunday morning and afternoon, as well.

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